Clawmates
by Stormen
Summary: Ranma 12 and X-men crossover - more coming soon


Clawmates version 2.0

Story by Stormen, Revised with

Assistance from F22wannabe

Pre-Story Author's note: There seems to be some (one or two actually) angry fic readers out there. Stormen was vehemently and vulgarly told some things I won't bother to repeat. It appears that the beginning of this fic is not 'original' enough for their liking. Stormen tried to explain his position, but words sometimes fail him. So I'll make it clear: this first chapter closely resembles other fanfics because Stormen likes those fics - to a point. He disagrees with the direction other authors take after their initial chapter. In order to address this, he came up with an idea - a redirection of another's vision. He wrote a draft and came to me for assistance. I noted its similarities to other fics, and he explained what he was doing. It was both our faults for not recognizing those authors borrowed from. So I'll list all the Wolverine and X-men crossovers Stormen's got on his computer, even if he didn't grab inspiration from all of them:

_Adamantium_ _Rage_ by JoshVH and Morden Night

_Astral Minds_ by Morden Night

_Claws_ by Shinigami-chan (This is the one Clawmates most resembles, for reasons stated above. I haven't read this fic in a really long time, so I can't say how close they are. The diversions will increase substantially in time, Stormen tells me.)

_Ranma and the Atom_ by Darkphoneix

_Weapon Ranma_ by AnimeAddiction

_X-Genes_ by Dloon Reddragon

and finally,

_Ranma X_ by Ray.

On behalf of Stormen, I apologize to these authors if they feel we've cheated them. If you [authors] feel so, please contact me personally at to discuss ways to fix the situation. Put the name of the fic in the header, so I'll have an idea what it's about. F22wannabe, out.

Below is newly modified version, with some fixes to other problems brought to our attention by people with manners. You people know who you are. ;-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or X-men. This story for pure enjoyment.

"....." speech [X-men will be English, Ranma ½ will be Japanese] (DUH!)

"...." translated speech (explained in story)

.... Thoughts

Part 1: Sticks and Stones Can't Break My Bones...

In a dimension similar to our own, the human race is undergoing construction. Mutations in the gene pool have created a new race of humans: Homo Superior. Not all normal humans accept these 'mutants' and their fear and hatred is growing. Vigilante mobs raid suspected mutant hideouts, and those found - mutant or not - often never leave. Those who would once consider themselves fortunate, the elite gifted of nature even, now fear for their very lives, cursed at birth to be forever vilified.

In Japan, two more youths have joined this unfortunate lot.

Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo's lives are about to change forever...

Tofu was dumbfounded as he checked up on his patients, still asleep in their cots. Last night, Ranma had limped in with a bruised battered and unconscious Akane in his arms. He had placed a cast on Akane's left arm from the elbow down, after resetting a compound fracture. Each thigh required at least fifteen stitches, and another fifty had run from her shoulder blade to the small of her back. Ranma was even worse. His left leg was broken barely above the patella, and he was still able to walk in! He had six broken ribs and a concussion. Each of them had numerous other smaller cuts and abrasions. They would be in bed for weeks, and their scars would never fade. Only now, they were gone! Akane's back and thighs were devoid of any marks whatsoever. Ranma had somehow taken off his cast during the night, and his legs flailed about in the air occasionally.

"Incredible rates of healing," Tofu whispered to himself. "I have to check." Grabbing a scalpel, he gently cut Akane on the calf. A single slit, roughly an inch in length. He turned to Ranma, spent a few moments restraining him, then did the same. When he turned back to Akane, he couldn't even find where he had cut her. He had the same problem with Ranma. He made a second cut on the boy, and watched it heal itself. "As I suspected. I had hoped they were too old for this to happen. How do I tell them-"

"Tell us what, Doc?" Ranma yawned. "How's Akane doin'?"

"Why don't you wake her up while I grab some tea?" I need a little time to think. Tofu left the room in a rush.

"Hey! Tomboy! Wake up!"

Akane rolled over and smashed Ranma with a mallet. Neither noticed her cast crumbling off her arm. "Can't you ever be nice to me?!"

"..."

Akane removed the mallet from Ranma's head. "Where are we?"

"Tofu's. I carried you here after the fight."

"The fight... How did you beat them? I remember fighting these strange people, and then one got me from behind, and that's it. I must have blacked out."

"They were pretty tough, but Ranma Saotome never loses!" Ranma declared. His face sunk after a moment. "Everything went white after I saw you get hit from behind. I don't remember anything after that until I busted down the door to get in here... At least you seemed to have healed well."

"You too. I could have sworn my arm was broken yesterday."

Tofu interrupted them. "It was, as was Ranma's leg. That's why I need to talk to you both." He set the tea tray on a table and gestured for Ranma and Akane to sit with him. "You see, I did a test this morning, after I found you both completely healed. I made a small incision on each of you and watched them heal in moments. I can only conclude that... that you both are.. You both have awoken your mutational genetics, giving you the ability to heal your injuries at unheard of rates."

"We're..mutants?" Ranma repeated.

"I always knew I was different, and that Ranma was flat out strange, but mutants?" Akane whispered. Ranma heard her and almost insulted her, but he held his tongue when he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"I couldn't think of any gentle way to break it to you," Tofu apologized. "It's up to you whether or not you want to tell your families. As far as I can tell, the mutation is limited to your healing abilities. I don't think you'll need to fear-"

"Growin' fangs, fur, an' tails?" Ranma supplied.

"Uh, yes. Why don't I give you two some time to talk this over. Just give a shout if you need something." Tofu stood to leave. Ranma motioned him to sit.

"No Doc, we'll head out. We can find a quiet place to talk. 'Sides, I think better when I'm movin.'" Ranma helped the still shocked Akane stand and walk out of the clinic.

Cyclops and Jean Grey watched the two youths leave the clinic. "They have just left the clinic," he told the X-men listening back at their headquarters. "Should we make contact?"

"No," Professor Xavier answered. "They'll need sometime alone to think. Just keep an eye on them for now."

Down the street, unbeknownst to our dear X-men and teenagers, a nondescript man flipped open his cell phone. "They are leaving the clinic now. This confirms our suspicions."

"What of the men you hired?"

"The boy did all the work for me. The largest piece I found was a leg. The Weapon X project is free and clear."

"Let us pray that we do not have a repeat of our past...mistakes. Give the order to acquire the targets."

Ranma dragged Akane into a park. Finding a tree to sit under, he helped Akane sit down before leaning himself against the tree, hands behind his head. Neither said a word, too deep in thought. Ranma stared at Akane for a minute, expecting her to speak. He looked away when she didn't. "What are we going to do Akane?"

"I don't know. We've always been told that mutants are evil... but we're not evil - are we?" Akane asked, staring out absently at the grass.

"We're not evil. We've always tried to help people out," Ranma stated. "And if we're not evil, then that means there are other good mutants out there too. Right?" She nodded to him.

"I'm - I'm worried what my friends and my family might think," Akane admitted quietly.

"Ahhh, who cares what they think?!"

"I do!" Akane cried. "I don't want my family looking at me like a freak!"

"Stop cryin' Akane. Nobody will think yer a freak! A tomboy, a klutz, and a horrible chef? Sure." She glared darkly at Ranma. This was not the way to cheer her up. "But not a freak!" Ranma proclaimed.

"You aren't helping any Ranma."

"Look, if they think yer a freak, then what do you think they'll think about me? Hell, the worse they can do to you is disown ya. My mom can force me to do ritual suicide!"

Akane stared him in the eyes. "Do you think she will?" she asked morbidly.

"I hope not." Silence reigned over the park. "We might as well go an' tell them an' get it all over with." He offered her a hand up.

"I suppose you're- WAAAAH!"

Ranma whipped Akane behind him with one arm, then brought it back to assume a defensive stance. "What do you want?" he yelled at the air before him.

"Who are you yelling at?" Akane asked. Then she saw it. Twenty meters away, the air rippled - only enough to discern the outline of a man.

Our best fiberoptic camouflage and he still detects me this far away? Unnatural. Disengaging his camouflage, the Weapon X Special Forces Captain raised his assault weapon. "The two of you are coming with me."

"Like hell we are."

"Then you leave me no choice." Fifteen men emerged from the shadows cast by the surrounding vegetation, forming a wide circle around the two teenagers. Attacking as one, Ranma and Akane managed to take out three apiece before they were stunned into unconsciousness by elephant tazers. As if on cue, a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) jet equipped with sonic dampeners landed quietly next to the group. The two teenagers were hauled into the cargo bay and restrained as the jet flew to the Canadian tundra.

Jean could feel something was out of place as they entered the park. The only ones there were herself, Scott, and the teens. "Scott, something's-"

She collapsed quietly atop the already unconscious Cyclops, both hit from behind by invisible assailants.

Cyclops awoke to the muffled sound of jet engines. He barely made out a symbol he dreaded from prior experiences as the plane shimmered out of existence, save its exhaust contrails. Bringing his phone to his still woozy head, he announced, "Professor, Weapon X has abducted Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo."

Charles Xavier silently cursed. Any mutant abduction bothered him, but when it came to the Weapon X organization... He could only hope that they could find the new headquarters before anything happened to the two. "Come home Scott. We should be able to find them with Cerebro."

[Weapon X Research Facility B, primary hangar, 100 miles east of Old Crow in the Yukon Territory of Canada.]

"Wonderful!" Dr. Baryon said as the sedated teens were wheeled into the lab. "There isn't a mark on either one!"

"We had to sedate them because the boy woke up a couple minutes into the flight, and nearly took over the plane. If I didn't know better, I could swear he was thinking about jumping out of the plane with the girl, even at seventy thousand feet and mach two!"

"That merely makes him an even better choice!" Dr. Baryon smiled and rubbed his hands eagerly. A nurse in full surgical garb placed oxygen masks over the two youths and wheeled them down the corridor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some quick surgery to perform!"

"Surgery?" the captain asked. "I thought we just had to throw them in those tanks of yours and let the adamantium do its thing."

"That is what we did with Logan, yes. But we have come a long way from then. Hmph! To think we thought he would be a perfect assassin! No, but we've come along some interesting improvements. The surgery, if you must know, is to insert the claws into their forearms. The designs by our lab are much more efficient than those straight blades we originally used. And they're so complex, we can't just form them with ultrasonic waves like we did with Logan." Dr. Baryon glanced at his watch. "Bah! I've wasted too much time as it is." He left the captain in the hangar. "Overcoming their healing factors will make this surgery difficult," he mumbled to himself as he hurried down the hall.

Six hours of surgery later, the two unconscious teens were wheeled into a large laboratory, with two high tech tables in its center and two circular platforms in one corner. The stitches along their arms were rapidly being overcome and dissolved by regenerating tissue. Along the north and south walls, scientists and staff worked, watching the room through transparent aluminum panels. Technicians placed the teens onto separate beds and strapped them down with titanium alloy cables. Meanwhile, the nurse from earlier carefully attached neuro-helmets on each.

"Are the preparations complete?" Baryon asked over the microphone in the control center.

Dr. Hart answer his call. "Yes we are sir." As the only woman in the project she represented her half of the species well. (A.N. - Yes! The nurse was male. Quit thinking in stereotypes!) Barely thirty years old, she had earned her doctorate in surgery and another in engineering in three years. Few would have suspected this long haired blond of having any intelligence at all. She appeared too much like a ditzy model. That's the problem with thinking in stereotypes. "We will be recording their memories before erasing them so we can study them at an other time, sir."

"Excellent!!... Be careful to do just that! Their fighting skills are irreplaceable, and the directors have already pushed up the schedule, so we don't have the time to re-teach them everything like we did the last time. Begin the mind wipe," Dr. Baryon ordered.

Being careful about what memories they erased took time. A crash procedure could wipe a mind completely blank in an hour. A normal erasure required at least three hours. Ranma and Akane each took twelve. That is the cost of quality, and it would be well worth it if it saved time later on.

Technicians removed the helmets as the the two teens awoke. They both attempted to focus on Dr. Hart despite their still blurry eyes. "Where am I and what's going on?" They asked simultaneously.

"My name is Dr. Hart. You two were in an accident and have lost your memories. We have brought you here to help you, okay?" she smiled at them. It came as no surprise to her that she was the only one that could speak Japanese in the facility. We've been tracking these two for three months and they still haven't hired a translator? She thought darkly. What kind of morons did I decide to work with? She continued her explanation of what was going on as the teens nodded their comprehension. "Good, now the technicians will be hooking a bunch of wires and tubes to various parts of your body, but first, we will need you two to go stand on the platforms behind you."

Ranma and Akane stood shakily, and followed the doctor to the platforms. Neither noticed their nudity, an example of one inhibition to have been wiped. As they stepped onto the platform, another set of technicians came up and hooked up the wires, tubes, and air masks to their bodies.

"Excellent. Now, we are going to lower the tubes from above you and fill it with a fluid - perfectly benign - that will help us run some very important tests. These tests may sting a little, I want you to understand that before we begin. Okay?"

Ranma and Akane answered in the affirmative as the glass tubes came down. A warm, off green fluid quickly filled the tubes.

"Give them a shot of sedative before we go any farther," Dr Baryon instructed. "Then start the adamantium bonding process." Thanks to Doctor Hart's improvements to the bonding process, we no longer have to merely encase the bones - we can directly fuse the adamantium into their very bones! It is no longer a mere protective shell, it is a living component of them! He smiled. This time, everything will be perfect!

"Adamantium feed started."

Ranma watched a thick, silver substance flow through the tubes and into his arms, legs, and torso. The moment it passed his skin, the flaring pain started. His scream matched that of Akane's as the adamantium covered their bones, then sank into them. For an eternity, the pain seared through his body, and his torment grew as the adamantium fused into his skull. Ranma and Akane's healing abilities stepped into overdrive to keep them alive, healing burnt and torn flesh. The pain reached its peak as the adamantium burned into his face and his sternum - fire licking his heart - simultaneously, and he screamed, Akane joining, a soul wrenching scream that had the doctors and technicians cringing in sympathy. Blessed unconsciousness enveloped the two.

Dr Baryon walked up to the tanks and marveled at the teens. "Keep them in the tubes for another six hours to ensure that they will survive the process. Increase the protein and vitamin flows, and give each an extra pint of blood every hour. Their metabolisms will be burning through those quickly. Then we will plant in new memories that will make them loyal to us." He smiled darkly, and then walked out of the lab.

[At Charles Xavier School for the Gifted in upstate New York.]

"I can't believe that I let those Weapon X goons blind side me like that. Now they have Ranma and Akane, God knows where!" Scott ranted.

"Scott, please clam down. We'll have to wait until Professor Xavier finds them with Cerebro," Jean sighed. He was giving her a headache. If there weren't so many witnesses, I'd smack him!

"Weapon X? Weapon X abducted more mutants?" Logan, also known as Wolverine, asked grimly as he stepped into the room.

"Yes. They just kidnaped Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo from Nerima, Japan. And we can't figure out why," Scott replied as he continued pacing.

"The kids are mutants, right?" Logan queried.

"Yes, their powers were just woken up last night; they're the same as yours - supernatural healing."

"My God!" Jean exclaimed as she realized the implications. "You don't think-"

"Yes, dammit! They're doing it again!" Logan shouted as he ran out of the room with the others not far behind him. I'm not going to let them do to these kids what they did to me! Logan silently vowed, unconsciously rubbing his forearm.

"How could we have missed something so obvious?" Jean muttered under her breath.

"Professor!" Wolverine yelled as he banged on the door to Cerebro. "You gotta tell me where those kids are before it's too late!" His fist went through empty space as a tired Professor rolled out.

"I have not been able to attain more than a momentary glimpse of where those unfortunate teenagers are. It is almost like someone has set up a psionic shield to keep me from locking onto their location. I am sorry that I can only give you a rough approximation of where they are," Xavier sighed.

"And where is that?" Logan demanded.

"I have already forwarded the coordinates to the Blackbird. I want you to take-"

Logan was already running down the hall towards the hangar.

"Scott, you, Storm, and Rogue go with him. He'll need your help."

Minutes later, the black jet darted into the air and sped into Canadian airspace. It was a tense flight, what with Logan pacing the aisle and temper flaring. Pushing the Blackbird to its Mach 3.5 limit still made it an hour long flight. Wolverine had gotten on everyone's nerves. Rogue had even offered to throw him out the door while they were still thirty thousand feet up.

"If you are really in a rush," she had added in a sweet, homicidal way.

They circled around a five mile perimeter twice, utilizing their advanced radar to detect the subterranean compound. When they finally landed, Wolverine charged out of the jet and into the woods.

"Wolverine, wait!" Storm shouted after him as she took flight.

"Guess you'll have to give me a lift if we want to get there on time," Cyclops told Rogue. She didn't waste time in responding as she scooped him up and flew after their companions.

Being a backup facility, WXRF-B had significantly less security than the original research facility. And once the freak snowstorm hit, any sensors they did have up top were rendered useless. It explains why the scientists were so surprised when the wall beside them collapsed.

Wolverine cut through the guards with ease. He moved so fast only the ones facing his blind charge ever saw him. Storm continually used lightning bolts to blow security cameras and fry electronic systems, so no alarm could be sounded as they delved deeper into the facility. Rogue and Cyclops caught up in time to watch Wolverine make a new opening in a wall with his claws. Entering, they noticed the dual tubes in the center of the room with tons of scientists and doctors standing around it, staring at them.

"So I heard that you fools were attempting to make another weapon X. And here I thought you had learned your lesson the first time," Wolverine growled.

"It's Logan!" one of the men shouted as he rushed towards an intercom. "Security to lab one! Security to-"

The panel blew up in his face as another expensive piece of electronics met another lightning bolt.

Wrenching a large piece of machinery out of its place against the wall, Rogue threw it against the large doors, all but permanently closing the entrance. "Nobody'll be comin' through there," She declared. "How y'all doin,' Storm?"

"I am nearly finished." Storm replied as she continued herding lab personnel into a corner with wind and precisely aimed lightening bolts. She fenced them in with a wall of ice.

"They're closing off our exit!" Cyclops informed them from the hole they had used for an entrance. His optics flared as he sent a blast down the hallway scattering the massing guards.

"We can't have that now, can we?" Rogue said with a wink as she and Storm rushed to assist Cyclops.

While the others dealt with security, Wolverine approached the tanks where Ranma and Akane floated unconsciously. He watched Ranma, memories of a time when he himself had floated in a similar tank so many years ago. The anger at the doctors for violating his body, the pain as the metal grafted to his bones, the confusion and shock as metal blades slid out from his knuckles. Before him were two more like him, both would soon be going through the same things he had. This time, unlike his, there would be people for them to lean on.

Shaking off the memories, he popped his claws out and slashed the tank, catching Ranma as the thick fluid flooded out. Wolverine carefully removed the wires, hoses, and breathing mask before he placed the boy on an operating table. Looking at the boy's hands, he noticed the curved edges of his claws sticking out. Two thin mounds, one starting between the index and middle finger, the other between the ring and pinky, shot straight up from the knuckles and with a slowly increasing slope terminated just before the wrist. They stood maybe an inch and a half out of the back of his hands. A thick straight line ran along the middle. Logan spat in disappointment and anger; he had hoped the scientist had not gotten far enough to create the claws. "Looks like they've made some changes to the design," he muttered, going back and extricating the girl, placing her on the table beside Ranma. She a minor bulges in all three gaps between her knuckles, the middle the largest, but none stood more than a quarter inch out of her hand. All three lines terminated before the wrist. The middle claw-sheath's opening was exposed between the knuckles.

It was a strange time to finally notice their nudity. He stormed over to the imprisoned personnel. "You and you," he pointed to two men, "you look about their size. Give me you clothes." The two men sputtered at the indignity, however, a show of Wolverine's claws quickly enticed them to turn over their clothing. They were slowly reaching to remove their underwear when Wolverine stopped them. "I don't think the kids would appreciate dirty underwear." He laughed heartily as he walked back to the tables.

Ranma's eyes were open when Wolverine returned. Wolverine handed him a pile of clothing. "Put these on while I dress the girl." The boy nodded absently, and Wolverine took that to mean he understood.

"What did they do to me?" he whispered painfully as he stared down at him hands. He rubbed at his sore forearm, causing his wrist to lock straight and long catlike claws to slide out, with a longer and straight, diamond shaped claw in the middle. Once they were fully extended, his wrist unlocked. "Why did they do this to me?" His wrists were far too wide. His forearms, once dramatically contoured by dense muscle were now shaped more like boxes, though the muscles were still there. Ranma's unusually extensive knowledge of anatomy told him someone had altered his bone structure. "For the claws," he whispered to himself.

"I'll explain everything to you as we get out of here," Wolverine said as he tugged Akane's shirt into place. "Come on! Get those clothes on. We don't have a lot of time." Ranma quickly followed his orders. "Are you gonna be able to walk or do I need to carry you out?" Ranma shook his head negative as he stood up, trembling slightly as he stood on his own legs.

Wolverine cradled the slowly waking Akane in his arms. Her hand brushed his, drawing a long gash. He set her back down and jabbed at her left forearm, causing her claws to extend on instinct. Wolverine noticed that her claws were identical to the middle of Ranma's. Looking straight on, they were diamonds, thickest in the middle, bladed on top and bottom, diffusing from a sharp point at the tips to a thick blade where they protruded from her hand. Again, the middle was the longest. A moment later, they slid back into her arm.

Her claws would have cut me right through if they were fully extended. How did she only scratch me?

Wolverine carried Akane and lead Ranma out through the hole in the wall, stopping only long enough to growl at Storm, "Grab all the disks you can. I want to know exactly how they did this." And, hopefully, a way to undo it! The white haired woman nodded in understanding. "We'll meet you at the plane!" he hollered back to her.

"Let's roll!" Rogue shouted as she lead the charge.

Wolverine settled Akane into a chair aboard the Blackbird. She was still mostly asleep, most likely meaning her powers were not as fully implemented as Ranma's. Ranma chose to sit in the seat beside her. "Stay with her," Wolverine ordered. Ranma seemed confused, but appeared to understand the gist of the words. Wolverine was about to leave the plane when Rogue and Storm flew in. "'Bout time you two showed up. Cyks has already got this bird ready to go." He headed back to the kids as the plane lifted into the sky.

"No need ta thank us," Rogue muttered under her breath.

"You kids look Japanese to me. You speak Japanese?" Logan asked in that language. Ranma nodded. "Great. My name is Logan. What's yours?"

"Ranma, I think. My mind is all hazy. Did they do that to me too?"

"Yes. It is called a mind wipe. They erase any memories they don't want you to have. They did the same thing to me." Logan slid his claws out. "They kidnaped us and grafted adamantium, the strongest metal in the world, to our bones. For some reason, either they or the process also created these claws."

Ranma looked at his hands, trying to summon the blades out. "How do you get them to come out?"

"Flex the muscles in your arm," Logan replied. "It will become like second nature to you in a while."

Ranma turned his arm to view the blades at different angles. The two curved tips were level with the bottom knuckles of his fist and six inches out. The majority of the curve in them was in the last three inches, giving them an approximate total length of ten inches. The middle one went out a straight ten inches. "Why are my claws different than yours?" He flexed his arm and they disappeared, except for the tip. Logan did the same. "Why don't mine retract in like yours?" An easy inch, and up to another half, of curved claws stuck out of his skin and arched shinily over his knuckles. They had swivelled upward, the angle allowing more of the claw to disappear and keeping the rest of the out of his fingers' way.

"Your's are curved, so you probably don't have room for all of them inside your arms. They had to compensate by leaving the last inch or two out. When we get home, I'll have Beast make you gloves with metal sheaths on them. Then you wont have to worry about accidentally sticking people. It will probably also take you awhile to get used to the extra weight of the metal, so you'll want to work out a lot once we get you settled in," Logan suggested.

"I've carried around heavier weights than this before," Ranma replied, then looked confused. "Well, I think I have. But I think what's-her-name there," he gestured to Akane, "Acne, Akno, Akane... Akane! Akane will need all the training she can get."

"Logan, would you and our young guest like something to drink?" Storm asked as she came towards them, startling both of them. Logan tensed up for a moment before relaxing, but Ranma leapt backwards and fell into a fighting crouch, his claws popping out on subconsciously. After a moment of assessing her, he slowly relaxed and withdrew his claws.

'Kid?" Logan asked, an unvoiced question in his eyes.

"She startled me, and her voice reminded me of the woman who did this to me," Ranma said as he sat down in his chair, grunting as he forced the claws to retract before burying his head in his hands, "Tell her I'm sorry for flyin' off like that."

Logan turned to translate and Storm held up her hand to stop him. In Japanese, she spoke,"one of the reasons I was asked to come is because I understand Japanese. I think we should introduce ourselves. All of the people onboard are mutants, like yourselves. We belong to a secret group called the X-men, and we are fighting to protect mutants across the world from fear and oppression.

"You have already met Logan, or Wolverine, as we call him in the field and his power is self-healing, like you.. I am Ororo. Please call me Storm. My mutant powers allow me to control the weather. The man with the visor up front flying the plane is Cyclops, or Scott Summers when we're not fighting. He fires powerful beams from his eyes. The woman next to him is Rogue. She absorbs energy, memories, and powers by touching someone with her bare skin. What's your name?"

"Ranma. Ranma Saotome. Thanks for getting me out of there," he said and Storm smiled at him encouragingly.

"Would you like some thing to drink Ranma?" she asked and he nodded. She went to a small compartment towards the back of the room and opened it. "As it appears that Jubilee has been in here, we only have bottled water at the moment. Is that okay?" she called over her shoulder as she got enough for everyone.

"That's fine." After being handed he water, Ranma smiled at her. Opening the cap, he was bringing the liquid to his lips when they hit turbulence, dumping the water all over him. Ignoring the weird tingle that ran through his body, Ranma sighed as she wiped the water off his face and...chest?

Looking down at himself, he noticed that his chest wasn't as flat it was supposed to be. Now he had breasts. Rather developed ones. "I'm a girl!" she screamed and abruptly fainted.

Logan had been the only person facing Ranma when he changed, and he was too much in shock to do anything except catch her as she slumped forward. Storm and Rogue, alarmed by the scream, came running up from behind him while Cyclops yelled, "What's going on?"

Noticing the transparency of the transformed Ranma's soaked white shirt, Rogue quickly removed her jacket, and covered her decently before taking her out of Logan's arms. "Why don't you go tell Scott what happened, okay Sugar? Storm and I will take care of Ranma," she suggested and he nodded, even as Storm was pushing him towards the front of the jet.

"I have no clue, one eye. The kid just turned into a gorgeous redhead when he spilled some cold water on himself during that bit of turbulence."

"A girl?!"

"That's what I said."

Rouge put Ranma in the bed on the other side of Akane, and she covered her with a blanket before sitting back down in the chair that Ranma had occupied earlier.

"Is he..she..alright?" Storm asked as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"I don't know. She seems to have fainted, but I don't know anything about fainting women," Rogue answered, a helpless look in her eyes.

"Do not worry, Rogue. Ranma should wake up soon. Without her memories, it must have been quiet a shock for him to turn into a girl, if this is something that he had from before," Storm reassured, putting a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Well, do you have some smelling salts or something?"

"I think it best that we just let her rest for now. We will be back at the mansion in about ten minutes."

"Do you think it is part of his mutant powers?"

Stormed sighed. "I doubt it. We'll figure it all out later."

As Rouge and Storm settled down to watch over the teenagers, Akane began to stir. She opened her eyes and saw two blurry images. "Hey Sugar. How you feeling?" Rouge asked.

"Okay," Akane muttered in Japanese, grasping the meaning of the Rogue's words. Storm translated what she said to Rouge. "Where am I? And who are you?" she asked.

"I am Storm and the lady beside me is Rouge. What is your name?" Storm asked warmly.

"Akane Tendo. It's nice to meet you. Are you here to help me?"

"Yes, we are Akane. We rescued you from the Weapon X program before they could do any more damage."

Akane brought her hands to her face to wipe the sleep from her eyes. She barely stopped before a claw bit into her forehead. "Did they do this to me? How do I get rid of them? I don't want to hurt myself..." She blushed. "Or you," she added quickly.

"Logan said that tightening your forearm muscles should retract the blades into their internal sheaths," Storm answered. After a few minutes, Akane finally got the claws to go in her arms.

"Why did they do this to me?" Akane looked at her companions in confusion.

"We will let Logan explain that to you, since he has personal experience with what Ranma and you are going through."

"Ranma? How do I know that name?" The two X-women let her sit quietly in thought. This would be a good test of how thorough the mind wipe had been. "He's...the boy at the, what did you call it? Weapon X?" The women nodded emphatically. But...he's more than that? I can't remember! "Where are we going?" Akane asked, changing to a less frustrating topic.

"We are going to a place called Xavier's School for the Gifted in upstate region of New York in the United States of America. And we can help you more when we get there," Storm replied.

Akane look past Rouge and Storm and saw Ranma. "Who is she? She kinda looks familiar, but I don't know why."

"Her? Her name is Ranma Saotome."

"Like the boy at the lab? What happened to him?"

"What do you remember when you where in the lab?" Storm asked. She didn't know how to explain Ranma's...predicament at the moment.

Akane wasn't sure why Storm had changed subjects. Shrugging aside the thought, she answered. "When I woke up I saw this boy next to me, Ranma if what I remember is right, and a Dr. Hart, I think her name was, said that we were in an accident and were suffering from amnesia and that they were going to help us. We did as she asked. We trusted her!" Akane swore and sobbed. "When we were in these tubes this liquid came up. I was scared, but they said we would be okay." She cried at the memory of the pain. Storm sat next to her, a comforting hand rubbing her back. "Then I felt pain all over my body. I screamed because it hurt so much." Akane broke down. "Why did they do this to us? We never asked them to do this!"

"We don't know dear. We don't know," was all Storm could think to say while hugging the girl.

"Where is that ungrateful boy?" Genma ranted.

"He and Akane were at Dr. Tofu's clinic. I hope they are alright." Kasumi said.

"This's weird though. For both of them to be gone this long," Nabiki noted. 'And I can make a killing from this too!' she thought of way to make Kuno pay for the information.

"I hope that my baby girl is alright," Soun cried.

There was a knock at the front door. Kasumi quickly greeted the person there. "Good

afternoon, Dr. Tofu."

Dr. Tofu glasses fogged up a bit. "H..Hi K..Kasumi."

"What brings you here today?" Kasumi asked the good Doctor.

Then the fogging of the glasses died down. He now remembered his mission. "I was wondering if Ranma & Akane made it home yesterday?"

"Why, no. They haven't been home at all and we're all worried that something might have happened."

"Can I speak with your Father and Mr. Saotome?" he asked. Focus on the situation. Forget about Kasumi. Pretty Kasumi. Life and Death situation. I am standing next to Kasumi. Don't think that! Mutant powers. Think of the children! Kasumi. Children. Marriage first. Aaaagghhhh! And so in internal struggle continued.

"Certainly. They're both in the livingroom."

They arrived in the livingroom, and Tofu saw the rest of the family minus Nodoka, and the two teens on his mind. Kasumi sat in her normal place while Tofu sat on the other side of the table. "Have Akane and Ranma talked to you about why they were at my clinic?"

"No," Nabiki answered. "They haven't been home in several days."

"I see. I was hoping that Akane and Ranma would be here and already explained all of this. But since they haven't..." He paused a moment. He gave a quick prayer to every god he knew of for help. "They were in a fight two days ago and were severely injured. They stayed overnight at my clinic to recuperate. When I went to check on them in the morning, I found they both were healed like nothing had happened." He paused again. "So, knowing that cuts, bruise and broken bones like they had the night before should have taken at least a month to properly heal completely, I tested Ranma by cutting his leg. He healed near instantaneously! And I did the same to Akane with the same results. I have no choice but to conclude that they are both mutants with extreme recuperative powers."

"So what? They were fast healer anyway," Nabiki commented.

"And they aren't mutants... merely because they heal fast," Genma challenged. "We all know mutants are bad, because of they want to take over the world and make us their slaves."

"Not all of them are bad you know. There's a strong rumor that a group called the X-men, a group of **mutants**, have actually fought several battles to protect normal humans! And that they have saved many peoples lives. Then there is Xavier's School for the Gifted that help teenagers with their mutant powers," Nabiki informed Genma.

"Probably to recruit them for their plot to take over the world! It's a perfect cover!" Genma declared.

"The question is: what happened to Ranma and Akane?" Soun asked while crying and envisioning all the evil things happening to his daughter.

"I hope they're alright," Kasumi reiterated.

"I wouldn't worry too much. They'll probably come home soon," Tofu comforted. "Well, I must be going back to the clinic, I'll call if I get any news," Tofu told the group, and left.

"There is no way that they can be mutants. Never." Genma grumbled. "All mutants are evil."

"What if they are like what Dr. Tofu said, with a gift of super healing. What then?" Nabiki queried.

Genma just muttered something under is breathe. "I'll be back in a while." Genma left to go have a few drinks.

Twenty minutes later, Nodoka was at the main gate. She walked up to the front door and knocked. Kasumi answered the door. "Oh my, hello Auntie. What brings you here today?" Kasumi asked sweetly.

"I came to see my son. I had hoped he would be here," Nodoka said with a sad voice at the end.

"Ranma and Akane haven't been back since they left Tofu's yesterday morning," Kasumi motioned Nodoka to enter. "Please come in Auntie, I need to tell you something Tofu has found out yesterday about them."

They went to the livingroom where Nodoka sat at the table and Kasumi went to get some tea. Nabiki came down to see who it was and was surprised that it Nodoka. "Hello Auntie, How have you been?"

"Good, but it is lonely at home. I wish Ranma and Genma would come home with me and be a family again." She sighed wistfully. "But otherwise I am fine. And how have you been?"

"Busy as ever," Nabiki replied.

"Is there something wrong with Ranma and Akane? Kasumi said something along those lines," Nodoka asked with a worried look.

At that moment Kasumi came in with the cups and tea. She served them all and when done she

continued on what she started to tell Nodoka. "Auntie, Ranma and Akane were in a fight and were severely injured."

"After winning the fight," Nabiki interjected. Nodoka nodded, she had taken that as a given.

"Yes," Kasumi agreed, and forgiving Nabiki's interruption. "They stayed overnight at the clinic. Yesterday, Tofu discovered that all their wounds had healed completely. To try and understand how, Dr. Tofu cut both of them and watched them heal in seconds. He came to the conclusion that they are both mutants with powerful healing abilities," Kasumi finished. She couldn't quite determine how to phrase the next part.

"They haven't been seen since they left Tofu's," Nabiki informed Nodoka. "That was yesterday morning."

"Oh dear." Nodoka was in shock. Ranma and Akane are mutants? She could accept that. As long as he doesn't grow fur and a tail. Or scales. Definitely not scales! She was worried about the two. She knew how most of the world thought about mutants. What will happen to my son? she asked herself. "My son is a mutant?" she asked.

"Yes," Kasumi confirmed. "And so is Akane."

Nodoka didn't appear to hear the last part. "This has got to be something from Genma's side of the family."

"Everyone, I have an announcement," Xavier said over the intercom at the mansion. "In a few minutes Logan, Scott, Storm and Rogue will be bringing a young man by the name of Ranma Saotome and a young woman called Akane Tendo here. They are both mutants with healing powers much like Logan. They were kidnaped by Weapon X.. They have no memories besides their names, so I expect you to be understanding and kind to them. Also, it appears they only speak Japanese, so during his stay here, please try to be patient while they adapt to life here. That is all."

"Did you hear that? New people coming here!" Jubilee exclaimed as she turned to Jean.

"Yes, but don't forget, their probably going to be nervous. No memories, in a strange country with strange people and stranger customs. I think that they will probably just want to hide from the world. They are going to need all the friends they can get," Jean said as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

They were currently in the lounge on the second floor of the mansion watching a movie on TV. When Jubilee had heard the announcement, she had jumped up, spilling popcorn all over the couch and the floor. With a quick gesture, Jean scooped all the popcorn off the floor and couch and into a wastebasket with her telekinetic powers.

"Then let's go greet them! It would be better if they were greeted by friendly faces," Jubilee stated happily as she grabbed Jean's hand and pulled her out of the room and down the hall. They arrived in the hanger just as the Blackbird's ramp extended to the ground and the X-Men started to emerge.

The first down was Cyclops, closely followed by Wolverine, who looked like he was going to pass out from shock. Third was Storm with Akane walking next to her. Finally Rogue walked down the ramp carrying a small red headed figure wrapped in her jacket and a blanket.

"Rogue, is that him?" Jubilee asked, all but dancing up to her. Before Rogue could answer, the figure in her arms stiffened and exploded out of Rogue's arms.

She landed twenty feet in a spectacular leap over Jean and Jubilee's heads. As she landed in a fighting crouch, her claws popped out and she glared at the people around her. She had been out since she had fai- er... fell asleep and suddenly she wakes up to being carried and someone talking in a strange language that sounded vaguely familiar. After what had happened to her the last time she had woken up surrounded by strangers, she wasn't just going to just sit there and let them do something to her again. What Ranma was unaware of though, was that during her leap, the short jacket had gaped open and the shirt underneath was still not dry, displaying things better kept hidden.

"They wont hurt us," Akane spoke in Japanese. "They're going to help us." What about this girl is claw- er...nagging me? They said her name was Ranma. And they didn't say where the boy Ranma went to. "Wait a second. Boy Ranma? Girl Ranma? You're the boy from the facility!" Akane exclaimed, pointing at the bewildered girl.

"Of course I am Akane. But how did you know? Do you know why this happened?" Ranma's voice was desperate.

"I - I can't remember. Sorry."

"Ah-HEM! Ranma? Please close your jacket before Cyclops faints from shock," Logan said wryly as he looked her over before politely turning his back, something that surprised most of the women there.

"What?" Ranma wondered as she looked down in confusion. "Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"I believe they don't find it socially acceptable for those to be showing," Akane explained, pointing to the transparent area.

"Whatever," Ranma said as she closed the jacket around herself. "Sorry if I offended any of you."

Logan nearly fell over laughing, but he managed to contain himself. So long as he didn't pay attention to Jean quietly chewing out Scott, he'd be okay.

"This is kinda freaky. I mean I was a guy and now I'm a girl."

"That's okay. Are you decent enough now for this old man to turn around?" Wolverine asked dryly.

Ranma smiled and said yes as she finished buttoning the jacket. She watched as he approached, a small smile blooming on her face. He was the one person out of everyone that she had met recently that she trusted wholeheartedly. After all, he was like her. "Logan, do you know where Akane and I can get some more comfortable clothes?" she asked, forgetting about the others that were watching them intently.

"Jean or one of the others could get you some clothes. Would you prefer guys or girls clothes?" he asked with a grin that none of the others had ever seen besides Jubilee who was the closest to him.

"I'm a guy!" Ranma declared loudly.

"Then what are those?" Logan asked as he pointed to her chest. He chuckled again as he saw her blush and heard her mutter something about dirty old man. Sobering quickly, he asked, "Do you know how to change back?"

"I can't remember. I changed when I spilled that bottle of water," Ranma said thoughtfully. "What do you think Akane?"

"If it was cold water that made you change, then I guess hot water would undo it."

Turning to Jean, Logan asked her to fetch some hot water. Turning towards Jubilee, he asked her to ge some clothes for the two. "And make them extra large for Ranma."

"Okay I guess. I thought Ranma was supposed to be a guy though?"

"Yes, he is. But for some reason he changed into a girl when some cold water splashed on him. But right now, they need some clothes. Jubilee, are you listening?" he asked and she nodded absently as she approached the nervous Ranma.

"What does she want?" Ranma asked as she backed away from Jubilee. The analytical look of the American girl was striking a nerve Ranma didn't know she had.

"Clam down Ranma, they're just trying to help," Akane reprimanded Ranma.

"She's just curious about you. She was told that a young man was coming and suddenly the young man is a young woman. You can understand that, can't you?" Storm said as she approached the two girls and laid a hand on each of their shoulders.

"That uncute tomboy would've pounded me if I looked at a girl like that," Ranma stated absently, gaining both Storm's and Logan's attention.

"What uncute tomboy?" they asked together.

"I don't know. It just popped out," she said, confused.

"Why does that phrase seem so familiar to me?" Akane muttered under her breath.

"I'm back," Jean announced as she walked up to the group. She handed Logan the water, then looked at Ranma, who had grabbed the water from Logan and dumped it over her head. Suddenly she became a he, a tall handsome male with midnight black hair. They all noted that his deep blue eyes stayed the same.

"That feels sooooo much better!" he said with a sigh as he unbuttoned the now too small jacket. While it fit his girl form like a glove, on his boy form, it pinched and threatened to split at the seams. He handed it to Logan, who gave it back to Rogue.

"Well, I guess we should get these two settled in," Jean suggested.

"I'll do it!" Jubilee volunteered. As the youngest member of the X-men, she had little time outside of duty and homework to socialize with people her own age. Naturally, she grasped this opportunity tightly.

"Why don't I join you three, so they can have someone translate for them?" Storm suggested.

"First, we'll get you two in some better clothes," Jubilee said in mock disgust of their present attire. Storm translated and the teens nodded in agreement. Ranma's stomach growled loudly. "And some food too," Jubilee chuckled.

As soon as the group left the hanger, Logan turned to Cyclops and snarled, "Why don't you take the disks we found to Chuck, one-eye? Try to make yourself useful for once." Still too confused and shocked to take offense, Cyclops just nodded and headed towards where he knew Xavier would be.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would say that you and the kid were related," Rogue said into the silence after Scott had left.

"..." Wolverine looked at her for a second before he spun on his heel and stalked away.

"Well, it's true. Same black hair, the same blue eyes. Why, even your features are a little similar," she called after him.

"You know, you're right. They do look kind of the same. Especially when Ranma went into that fighting stance with his claws out. I've seen Wolverine exactly the same way a couple of times before." Jean said as the last three women deserted the hanger.

"So you say he turns into a girl when splashed with cold water?" Xavier repeated as he looked at Scott in unconcealed interest. "Is it part of him mutation?"

"I don't think so. If it was, then he would have been able to control it without the water, I think," Scott said thoughtfully. Shaking his head to clear it, he handed the Professor the stack of disks they had taken from the lab. "Here, Wolverine told us to grab these."

"Yes, and I'm glad he did. Maybe we can find out more about who is behind this and how they did it, among other things." Xavier wheeled himself out the door while sending out a telepathic call for everyone to meet them at the war room, Scott following close behind. Once there they waited a few minutes for everyone to get there before he started talking. The last ones into the room where Storm, Akane and Ranma. Ranma was now dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his chest like a second skin and brown work boots, the only shoes his size at the moment. Akane was wearing blues jeans and a blue t-shirt, quite a bit looser than Ranma's, and a pair of sneakers.

"Hello everyone, and welcome Ranma and Akane," Xavier said and Storm translated.

"It's nice to meet you, too," they said and bowed as one, while Storm translated again. Seeing that it was going to be a problem until Ranma and Akane could learn passable English, Xavier went over to a console and opened a small compartment, taking out a small device. He quickly handed it to Storm and asked her to explain their function.

"Ranma, Akane, this is a translator. You put it into your ear and it will translate what we say into Japanese for you and when you speak, it will translate your words into English for us until you learn how to speak it," she said as she adjusted the small mechanical wonder and put it over one ear. The bulky plastic extruded two inches off the ear, and a slim microphone swooped close to their lips. "Can you understand me now?" she asked in English and he nodded, a stunned look crossing both teens faces.

" Yes, I can," Ranma replied, then looked to Akane.

"I can too... But how?..." Akane answered. She could hear her own Japanese echoing off the walls, as well as a mechanical version of her own voice that supposedly was repeating her words in English. It would take a while to get used to.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Jubilee exclaimed from her seat on a near by console. Turning to Beast, she added, "This is one of your creations, isn't it Beast?"

"Why, yes it is. I felt it would be better if we could understand what people were saying when we are in other countries," the blue furred scientist said humbly, then turned towards the still stunned Ranma and Akane. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Henry McCoy, also known as Beast."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. McCoy," Ranma said with a small smile and bow.

" Pleased to meet you," Akane said with a cute smile and bowed to him.

"Please just call me Beast like everyone else does."

"The name's Remy LaBeau, but you can call me Gambit," the tall man with the brown duster and red hair said from where he leaned against the wall next to Rogue, with a heavy French accent.

Before Ranma or Akane could reply to that, Jubilee jumped in. "And now that we can understand each other, I can introduce myself properly! I'm Jubilee!" she declared and would have bubbled on had Logan not covered her mouth with his hand.

"Um, hi." They really didn't know how to respond to the excitable girl. She seemed nice enough.

"My name is Jean Grey. I don't have a nickname so just call me Jean," she was dressed in casual slacks and a jade blouse that complimented her red hair.

Ranma and Akane just nodded, starting to look a little overwhelmed. They turned their attention to the last unidentified person in the room. Looking over the bald man in the floating wheelchair, Ranma was unsure what to think of him.

"Hello, Ranma, Akane. My name is Professor Charles Xavier and I wish to welcome you both to my School for the Gifted. Everyone who stays here is a mutant like yourselves. They are here to learn how to control their powers, in addition to receiving a formal education."

"But ours are healing. How are we going to learn to control that?" Akane wondered.

"You will learn how to live with what they did to you, like Logan. When he first got here, he was full of rage and anger, but we are slowly helping him with that." Logan huffed in the background. "Just being in an environment that accepts you for what you are is often all one needs to develop into a better person. Will you accept our offer of help?" Xavier asked.

"I guess so, but will you be able to help us get our memories back?" she asked slowly. Ranma nodded in agreement.

"Maybe. When they wiped your minds, they may have created records of your memories. Quite possibly they are somewhere on the disks that Scott and the others brought back, if not the procedure they used," Xavier explained. "Logan himself went through the same things that you both are know. The data on these disks should be able to aid him as well."

"Enough with the gloomy stuff! Come on, you two! I'll show you around," Jubilee exclaimed as she grabbed their hands and dragged them out the door.

"Me' thinks petite has a crush on the newest X-Man, no?" Gambit chuckled and the others exchanged smiles.

"Yeah, she's as hooked as a trout during a fishing convention. But did you see the way Ranma and Akane were standing? They were standing closely together like a boyfriend and a girlfriend," Rogue said as she grabbed gambit's arm and pulled him out of the room. "Anyways sugar, let's go and fix up two rooms for them."

"Jean, Scott, Storm, will you please come with me? We need to talk about what we're going to do about Ranma's and Akane's families. We know where they lived in Japan, but from the few times I've had Cerebro scan their home and adjoining area, I have gotten some very confusing readings." Xavier said as he turned to the last three people.

"What kind of readings?" Jean asked as they followed the Professor out the door and down the hall to a walled-in garden.

"Ranma and Akane seem to have been surrounded by two more mutants on an almost daily period, but Cerebro reported three huge power readings from the area, none of which are mutants," he stated and the others looked at him sharply.

"Is that possible?" Storm asked quietly.

"Apparently. I think that you three should go there and find out what is going on."

"When?" Jean asked.

"As soon as Beast and Logan can go through all the disks. Besides, all of you deserve a vacation," Xavier smiled and would have continued, but a blood-curdling scream of pure terror interrupted them. "That's Ranma!" he exclaimed and all of them bolted out of the garden as fast as they could. "He's in the backyard with Jubilee and Akane!" he called after them as they quickly outdistanced him.

"Thanks," Scott called over his shoulder as they ran through the door that led outside. They got to Ranma, Akane, and Jubilee at the same time as Beast, Logan, Rogue and Gambit. They saw Ranma cowering against a tree with Jubilee shaking his shoulder in an attempt to get him to tell her what was wrong. Akane watched, worried, and looking like she had seen this before but wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Get it away! Get it away!" Ranma screamed as he covered his face with his arms. The X-Men were shocked to see a tiny kitten in front of the cowering Ranma, and were even more surprised when he shot up straight against the trunk of the tree when it rubbed itself along his leg.

Ranma couldn't believe it. He had just been talking to Jubilee and Akane when something had rubbed against his ankles. He had looked down to see a fuzzy black kitten curled up against his leg and he had freaked out for some reason. He wasn't sure why he was so scared, but the sight of it just filled him with terror.

He had ended up cowering against the tree, covering his face because something was telling him that he had to protect his eyes from claws and fangs. It's claws bit into his legs, as it tried to clime up its new playmate.

Finally, the terror got too much and blackness over came him.

"What is he so scared of? It's only a little pussy cat," Rogue said as she picked up the cat from in front of the terrified teen. Suddenly, everyone heard a huge meow and turned incredulous eyes to Ranma as he crouched on all fours. "Sugar? Are you all right?" Rogue asked as she stretched her hand down to him, only to have him lash out with his new claws. She jerked back and looked at the three blood stripes on her arm in shock. "H-How?!" She was nearly impervious to all attacks, thanks to an incident in her youth, when she had absorbed - permanently - the powers of Ms. Marvel.

"Rogue, back away very slowly," Wolverine said quietly as he slowly approached. One look at his face convinced her to do as he said. She slowly started to back away. As soon as she was even with the others, Logan stepped forward, catching Ranma's attention.

"Ranma, can you understand me?" he asked, making his voice as soothing as he could. When he received a less unfriendly look as Ranma slowly started to relax, he continued, talking about anything and everything that he could think of, keeping his voice as relaxing as he could. "Jubilee, walk very slowly over to the others and take Akane with you. When you get there, just keep walking. This might take a while. All of you leave, and take that cat with you," he said, still in his soothing voice.

Jubilee try to get Akane to move but Akane wouldn't budge. It was like she was in a hypnosis, like she was remembering something. The extra weight from the adamantium also placed Akane in a weight range just above Jubilee's limit. "Logan, She not moving."

"Just get out of here, I'll worry about her," Logan replied, keeping his eye on Ranma.

"I don't think..."Scott was saying while taking one step, but was stopped when Ranma hissed at him angrily.

"Get out of here Cyks. You don't understand. His fear of cats has made his mind snap. Right now, he is a cat. And he feels threatened by you," Wolverine said, his soothing voice starting to strain with his annoyance at the thickheaded people.

"What if I put a force field around him?" Jean asked, her own voice soothing.

"No don't do that." Everyone was surprised when Akane spoked. "He will get really mad, if you did."

"No good. You can't keep it up forever and once you let it down, he will tear you apart." Wolverine sighed and gestured at them to leave again.

"Are you sure you can handle him?" Jean asked.

"I'll yell if I have any problems. Now get out of here." As soon as they were safely back in the building, Wolverine turned back to Ranma, who had relaxed enough to chase a butterfly in the grass. He watched the boy for a while as he ran around, climbing the tree, chasing butterflies and grasshoppers and generally acting like a young cat, and while he was full of hyper energy, Ranma never strayed too far from Wolverine, who was leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"What wrong with him? Why do I have this feeling that I can help him?" Akane wondered under her breath.

Logan watched Ranma play around a bit. Then Ranma just stopped as he saw Akane. She spoke about being a good kitty but he was running full speed towards her. She prepared for him to crash into her, but she fell to her knees before he got there. He should crash into her at any moment. She waited, and waited a couple more seconds. Since it didn't come, and she was hearing a purring noise. She opened her eyes to see Ranma laying in her lap like a cat would, but much bigger.

Ranma was happy to be in Akane's lap. He felt safe there. Akane was shocked, but once that passed she started to pet Ranma's head and back, which made him purr even more. Logan stood up and knelt next to Akane.

"Are you going to be alright with him for a while?" he asked.

Akane nodded. "It feels like I have done this before. It's like I know he wont hurt me no matter what." She added. Ranma quietly slipped into a peaceful slumber.

"I am going to talk with Chuck. I'll be right back." He quickly strode out of the garden.

Professor Xavier was waiting for him. "Logan, Do you know what happened to Ranma?"

"Maybe," Wolverine replied harshly. "When I was in Japan years ago, this monk I knew told me about a martial arts technique called the Neko-ken, or the cat-fist. It gives the user great strength and speed plus claws made out of pure ki that can slice through steel like paper. But the training gives the user a fear of cats so great that the trainee sometimes goes insane and acts like a cat or becomes permanently feral. They also can only use the technique when they go cat. But it's been banned for years. The only viable candidates for training are young children; the cat-fist requires a fear beyond that of a phobia to work. No one could have been crazy enough to teach a child though, right?"

"It seems like someone was. I would say that this is exactly what has happened to him," Xavier said regretfully.

"When I find out who did it..." Wolverine trailed off as he displayed his claws in a suggestive manner.

Ranma awoke in Akane's lap. "What happened?" he asked. He rubbed the back of his head and looking around in the confusion.

"I believe it was the Neko-ken, Ranma." Akane answered. "But I'm not really sure I remember all of it. It's weird how my memory reappears in chunks and pieces."

Ranma finally noticed he was curled up on her lap. "Sorry about this, Akane." He quickly stood up.

"Are you alright?" Akane asked.

"I think so... Are you alright, Akane?" he asked her with a worried look.

"I'm fine."

"What about Jubilee, and everyone else?" he hesitantly asked, worried about what he might have done to them.

Before Akane could answer the door opened; Xavier and Logan walked in. "I see that you are awake. Ranma, what was the last thing you remember?" Xavier asked as he floated closer.

Ranma was sat next to Akane, rubbing his head. "Talking with Jubilee and Akane. And then, nothing but a blank," he answered, slightly confused as to why the Professor was asking that.

"There was a cat and you started acting like a cat after you got really scared," Wolverine explained and Ranma looked at him in shock before looking around frantically for the aforementioned cat. "It's gone." Wolverine said, guessing that was what he was looking for. "It also seems that Akane here can clam you down after you have entered into the cat state of mind. I can't explain why though," he muttered the last part. I'm going to have to read up on this Neko-ken, he thought to himself.

"Ranma, Akane, would you like to go back to Japan? That is where you're originally from." Xavier said. Wolverine, Ranma, and Akane looked at him in shock. Seeing their looks, he chuckled and continued. "Most of the X-men are going on a vacation to Japan in a week or two. You are welcome to go with them if you like."

"Sure! Maybe that will help us with our memories." Ranma said and stood up. Then he held out his hand to Akane. Akane took the hand, and with a good hold on her hand Ranma pulled her up to her feet.

"I'm sure it will, but I would also like to try to alleviate your fear of cats. Why don't we work on that tomorrow right here in the garden? That way if you come across another cat, this won't happen again," Xavier asked and Ranma nodded before returning to the mansion.

"I wonder what happened to Ranma," Jean said to Storm as the two of them finished preparing dinner for everyone. (A.N.: It was their night to do it.)

"I don't know. It wasn't a normal fear of cats, but more like a terrible memory that was just too much for him," Storm said as she gathered plates and glasses, while Jean put the finished meal into serving dishes. In honor of their new friend, they were eating Japanese food, and they were even going to attempt the use of chopsticks.

"Yeah, it was kind of like that. Maybe the Professor can help him with that," Jean hoped, then mentally called everyone to dinner.

Once everyone was at the table and had started eating, the X-Men had another shock as they watched Ranma eating. His chopsticks were a blur as they shoved food into his mouth, simultaneously stealing food from everyone else's plates, though almost nobody noticed at first as they attacks were done far too fast. Only their depleted food piles gave any indication of the theft.

"Slow down, you baka" Akane growled in his ear.

"What it's to ya, you uncute tomboy?" Ranma bit back. His reply caused both to stare at each other, wondering why this seemed so familiar.

"Where did you learn to eat like that?!" Jubilee said more to herself than to anyone, but Ranma heard it.

"I have no idea. No memories, remember?" he said slightly bitterly.

"I'm……sorry Ranma. I didn't mean it that way," Jubilee said softly as she looked own at her food and poked at it with a chopstick.

"It's okay. I mean, I can live without all my memories for a while."

When they were done with dinner, the professor asked Jubilee to show the two to their rooms. "You guys will love it here, there are a lot of people to meet."

"This place is so huge. Don't you think Akane?"

"It'll take some time to figure out the layout of this place," Akane agreed.

"Don't worry about figuring the place out. I have been here for almost a year and still haven't seen it all," Jubilee commented. They walked down the hall and Jubilee stopped next to a door four rooms from the end. "Akane this is your room," she point the right door, "and that is your room Ranma. I'm at the end of the hall. You can't miss it."

"Where are all the other people?" Akane asked.

"Let see, today is what? Wednesday?....." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Oh, yeah. Today is movie night. So they would be in the theater. First, you've got to see your rooms." Jubilee gave a quick tour of both of their rooms, each consisting of a bed, bureau, closet, and desk with chair. Then they headed for the theater to meet the other kids.

Ranma wasn't really into movies, but they were showing Rush Hour 2. He could have done without the comedy, and the fights were too slow and mundane for his tastes. Akane was surprised at the wide variety in the age the other students. Jubilee went to a group in the middle and sat down and started talking to some of her friends. She told them of the two new additions, and making all of them look at Ranma and Akane. Ranma and Akane went to the back and to two adjacent empty seats. By the time the movie finished, Akane was leaning her head on Ranma's shoulder, sleeping soundly. Ranma put his arm on the back of the seat and his hand rested on her shoulder. "Akane, time to wake up." Ranma tried to gently shake her awake.

"Hmm?" She stirred a bit.

"Come on Akane, wake up." He tried to again with a little more effort.

"What?" She pick up her head. Then she stretched and yawned.

"The movie is over. Maybe you should go to bed."

"Yeah, I am a little tired. See you in the morning." Akane said and walked off to her room.

Two boys were talking to Jubilee. They wanted to know more about the new gury before actually meeting him. Jubilee explained to them how both he and Akane seemed to have the same healing ability as Logan, that they were kidnaped, and that they went though the treatment as Logan too. They noticed Ranma's claws stuck out, sharp tips aimed out and down over his knuckles, but they trusted what Jubilee had told them. He didn't look dangerous other than for the claws.

"You're Ranma, right?" one of the boys asked.

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Michael Smith but you can call me Mike, and this is Paul Lewis."

"Nice to meet cha," the other said as his name was mentioned.

"Would you like meet some of the other guys?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Come on then. We'll show you where we all like to hang out," Paul said walking out of the theater.

When they got to the spot where the guys hang out, most of the boys talked about the girls in the school. One of the boys made the mistake about say how he would get it on with the new Japanese chick, and had ended up against the wall with a claw on either side of his neck and a third touching the skin on his Adam's apple. All the other boys backed off as a blue hue formed around the Ranma.

"If I hear anything like that again, I will tear you apart, working my way slowly **up**. Get my drift?" Ranma eyed every boy to make sure that each and everyone understood. Seeing all the boys nod their head in pure fear of him, he excused himself.

"Dude, did you see how fast he moved?" Jack asked.

"No, I never saw him move. Did you see that blue haze that surrounded him? It's like Jubilee's hands as she's forming those plasma balls." Mike was stunned at what he saw.

"It seems like Akane is his girlfriend," Marshel said as he rubbed his throat. "Damn those claws of his are freaky! Another quarter of an inch, I would have a hole here."

"I know where I definitely want to be: on his good side; for sure," Nick said as he sat back down in his chair.

As Ranma was with the boys, the girls had welcomed Akane. The girls had stopped her before she entered her room. They ended up talking for a couple more hour in her room, topics ranging from the school to boys. Akane didn't talk much. Some of the girl were talking about how much of a hunk Ranma was compared to the other boys. Hard foot steps preceded the slamming of the door across the hall. "Can you excuse me, I think Ranma needs someone to talk to." Akane got up and left her room.

"Wonder what got Ranma in such a fowl mood?" One of the girls asked.

"Problem Marshel, we all know he has a foot in mouth syndrome," Jackie, Mashel's girlfriend, told the other. "He probably offended Ranma." And the girls went back to their gossiping.

Akane knocked on Ranma's door. He didn't answer, but the door was unlocked. "Ranma?.... Are you alright?"

Ranma was pacing the floor. He didn't notice Akane or her question. She walk up to him and placed a hand softly on his shoulder which made him stop. "Are you alright, Ranma?" She asked again. Ranma moved his mouth but no word where coming out. Akane pulled him to the bed, then push him to sit down. Then she sat next to him. "What got you so upset?"

He took a couple of deep breathes. "One of the guys make this stupid remark. And I.. I just flew off the handle," he answered her.

"What was the comment?" She needed more details if she was going to help.

"I....I...I don't talk about it," He grumbled and turned away from her.

"What kind of comment was it?" She turned his head so he was looking at her. He just shook his head. "It couldn't be that bad."

"It was worse than you think," Ranma disagreed.

"Can you please tell me. You can trust me." She gave him the puppy eye look, utterly crushing all resistance.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Just promise that you won't get angry. Cuz I already took care of him and the others just in case," Ranma stated.

"I promise, I wont get angry. So what did he say?" Akane asked.

Ranma repeated the exact phrase that the other boy said. Akane just look shocked, that someone would say something like that. "What did you do?"

"I threatened him and the others that if I hear another comment like that about you, I would rip them apart. Or something along those lines," he muttered.

"I can't really say that's a sweet thing to do...but... Thank you Ranma. It's nice know I have someone to count on here." She stood up and kissed him on the cheek and turned to leave.

"Akane, wait a sec."

"Yes?" she turned around.

"I was wondering if you would like to train or spar sometime. It will help you to get used to the extra weight from the stuff they did to us."

"Of course, I'd love to. When?"

"I was thinking around sun up, would that be okay?"

"Sure, see you then." Akane walk out of the room. Ranma started to blush, absently rubbing the spot where she had kissed him. It felt so good. It had started again, he was falling in love with her, but didn't remember his past enough to know if it was merely a sense of deja vu or really a memory.

Akane blushed. She had just kiss a boy for defending her honor, and it was so sweet of him to ask to help her out. She felt close to Ranma, but she couldn't decide whether it was because he was a kindred soul, or an erased memory trying to spring forth.

When she went into her room, all the girls want to know what happen, the telltale sign of guilt covering Akane's face in that blush. She told them an edited version of the story, leaving out the kiss she gave him. They teased her, seemingly knowing what she had left out of her story, though they let it eventually drop. They needed to get some sleep, considering they had classes in the morning.

End of Chapter 1.

Author notes: (F22wannabe)

This is the second revision of Stormen's original Clawmates, as done by myself, F22wannabe. I already explained the thing about the idea above, and I reiterate that Stormen promised me it will diverge significantly from here on. I am only 'enhancing' his drafts, I claim no responsibility for them.

And yes, I will eventually be posting an idea I have for an X-men crossover, though I won't continue it. I'll be posting it for someone else to take and go from.

I have no idea what's coming in the next chapter of Clawmates, but here's what Stormen put:

And boy is hell going to break loose later on...... hehehehe.....

Guess that means more work for me.

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Author notes: (Stormen81)

I glad to get these minor fixes done. Grant the story is really based off of _Claws_, and _Adamantium_ _Rage_, but I am putting my own little twist or flavor to my fanfiction.

I am also diappointed of a couple people immaturity to not read the fanfic again after the first re-write. Granted, I such at spelling, but I am getting better. The reason for a Review/comment on is to either tell the person what is wrong (like errors) or to say good work but it need to be improved in this section, etc. Other things, I am glad with some of the idea that have been passed to me, and thinking about using them when the time is right. Thanks for your input. Enjoy!


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